Morning Score: Fox picks 2012 players

DEBATE SPEED READS – THE THRILLA IN GREENVILLE-A – Five Republican presidential candidates debated in South Carolina last night, in the latest event dubiously billed as the start of the 2012 primary season. On the stage were Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Gary Johnson and Herman Cain. Here’s what you may have missed:

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- Jeff Zeleny reports on the awkward semi-jabs the candidates lobbed at Mitt Romney: “[E]ven in his absence, his name was mentioned over and over, with one question devoted to the health care law he signed as governor of Massachusetts that is similar to the national plan Mr. Obama signed … ‘Governor Romney’s not here to defend himself,’ Mr. Pawlenty said, ‘so I’m not going to pick on him.’ But throughout the evening, Mr. Pawlenty and other Republicans on the stage tried to do precisely that — in subtle and unsubtle ways.” http://nyti.ms/m0jKge

- The State notes the looming presence of Gov. Nikki Haley at Thursday night’s event: “With so few candidates at the debate, Haley played a supporting role as the Fox News moderators took up her challenge to presidential candidates to weigh in on a National Labor Relations Board complaint against Boeing Charleston’s plant … Fox twice cut to Haley, nodding to the answers on their broadcast.” http://bit.ly/mOtuMb

- And Fox insists that the candidates who didn’t show up paid a price for it: “They missed out on a chance to weigh in on the biggest issues of the day, including whether to release a photo of bin Laden's corpse, something that Obama has said he won't do … Before Thursday's debate, Pawlenty zinged those rivals who chose to skip the debate. ‘One of the things about leadership is that you've got to show up,’ he said.” http://fxn.ws/kKfVCn

FOX SORTS THE FIELD – NOTED: In a section of the debate focused on potential candidates who skipped the event, Fox asked questions about Donald Trump, Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich – and NOT Mitch Daniels, Jon Huntsman or Sarah Palin.